House Democratic leaders say a budget compromise is likely, and expect the middle ground can be reached by the end of next week.

House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, told reporters at the Capitol Friday that the two chambers were fairly close. He said some missing pieces from the House version of the budget — such as the use of multi-county coal severance tax money to pay for scholarships for Eastern Kentucky students to go to college — could have been a hold out as a negotiating point for senate budget plans.

“We may have approached it in a different manner but at least we’re addressing the issues,” Stumbo said. “If that’s the case we ought to be able to come to some middle ground to formulate a budget.”

A conference committee to help negotiate the budget plans is expected to meet on Monday.

Nick Storm

Nick Storm is the Anchor and Managing Editor of Pure Politics available exclusively on Spectrum News. Pure Politics is the only nightly program dedicated to Kentucky politics. Nick covers all of the political heavyweights and his investigative work brings to light issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, like his coverage of the backlog of DNA rape kits waiting to be tested in Kentucky. Nick is also working on a feature length bio documentary Outlaw Poet: A documentary on Ron Whitehead. Pure Politics airs weeknight at 7 and 11:30 on Spectrum News. Follow Nick on Twitter @NStorm_Politics. Nick can be reached at 502-792-1107 or nicholas.storm@charter.com.